Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1887-01-12
THJEVING JIM GROW.
An Amusing Bird with Decided Pro-
pensity for Kleptomania.

an Amusing Bird with Decided Pro-
pensity for Kleptomania.
Away down in that quaint quarter Of
the city known as the Neck two
gunners, while tramping about in
search of sport, came across lone pine
tree, just as large crow winged its
way, with loud cawing, toward it. The
bird attracted the sportsmen's atten-
ton by her awkward manner of flying.
She seemed to be carrying load in her
claws that, while it might not be heavy,
was extremely unhandy. At the sug-
gestion of one of the now interested
Nimrods the other poured both barrels
of his shotgun at the big, black bird
just as she spread out preparatory to
alighting. When the smoke cleared
away a little tuft of black feathers
came floating down and stopped at the
feet of the two men.
''Where the deuce is the crow?"
queri3d the one who had made the shot,
as his eyes eagerly sought the place
near the topmost branch of the tree,
and where she had last been seen.
"You just clipped her as she touched
her nest There it is, up in the crotch
of that upper limb and the trunk.
Whatever she carried was dropped into
it, and she is off again down toward
the river" And as he spoke the direc-
ton of her flight was marked by the
pointing of his gun toward black spot
off over the marsh at least quarter of
a mile distant
1t seemed impossible, now that their
curiosity was aroused, for them to pro-
ceed further until thatnest was reached
and its contents known. After consid-
cradle haggling it was agreed that the
one should climb for it who lost the
toss of big copper penny drawn from
the pocket Of great corduroy hunting
coat 1t did not take long to decide,
and the man who made the shot was
soon on his way up the shelly trunk of
the pine, while the other cheered him
to mount more rapidly. The climber
soon reached the nest, and with a laugh
threw down a large hair-comb, the
article which the bird had stolen from
some house near by and endeavored to
conceal in her nest Then he drew
out two screaming, red-mouthed little
fellows, covered over with black down,
and stuf1ing them into the capacious
pockets of his coat he descended, and
the two men resumed their tramp
across the Doggy ground
Two days after this incident the two
young crows, to which the names of
Jim and Joe had been given. were pre-
sented to Mr.. Abraham De Hart, an
old and well-known resident of the
southern section of the city. Mr.. De
Hart has garden and greenhouse
at the southeast corner of Twelfth and
Dibinson streets, where every morning
when he went to water his plants or
dig up the flower-beds he was accom-
panied by the two youngsters, who had
grown to be big, black-coated fellows
like their mother.
But one morning Joe took cold and
lied, and jim soon afterward devel-
oped decided case of kleptomania,
for nothing could be left within his
reach but it would be stolen and taken
off to the garden and hidden beneath
bushes or under sod Of earth. His
joyous cawing after he had made a
successful haul could be heard all over
the neighborhood and attracted much
dlUCublOu
An iron railing surrounds the gar
den in which old Mr. De Hart works
each pleasant morning, and along this
the school-children collect and watch
the comicaI antics of jim as he catches
the grub-worms his masters spade
turns up. Sometimes small root is
found which is of value, and when
Jim catches sight OF the little bulb he
makes q grab for it, and the strength
of his great black beak, as shown in
the struggle for possession which en-
sues between master and bird, is really
wonderful and amusing.
At intervals, when growing tired of
making the gaping crowd laugh, he
will suddenly stretch his broad black
pinions and take a sail around the tree
tops, alighting with a loud and start
ling ''caw" on the railing over the
heads of the crowd. This trick seems
to furnish Jim with more amusement
than it does his audience.
Scarcely housekeeper but knows
Jim and his thieving tricks, for he has
put his owner to the trouble of carry
ing lamp-globes, combs, collars and
cuffs, jewelry, spoons and a hundred
other articles around the neighborhood
to try to find their owners. Jim will
fly down into a backyard, and while
balancing himself upon a clothes-line
will draw the clothes-pin off, throw it
on the ground, and go off with the
handkerchief, sto cking or collar that it
hold Ph1Io(7o L,lhj0 Times